Nursing care bed with wheel chair facility

ABSTRACT

A nursing care bed with a wheel chair facility that comprises a bed frame including a head board, a first bed body and a second bed body, the first bed body and second bed body extending longitudinally of the bed frame and spaced away from each other and each of the first and second bed bodies having one end secured to the corresponding lateral side of the head board, and a wheel chair having casters mounted beneath the bed frame for moving the wheel chair into or out of the bed frame between the first and second bed bodies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a nursing care bed that is designed for use by the aged persons, physically handicapped persons, sick persons and other like persons who need the nursing care because they cannot support themselves without relying upon the help of some persons who give the nursing care. In particular, the present invention relates to a nursing care bed with a wheel chair facility that can reduce the burden of the person who gives the nursing care when he or she is moving the aged person or any other person from the bed onto the wheel chair or from the wheel chair onto the bed, ensuring that this movement can be done easily and with safety.

2. Prior Art

In the following description, persons who need some nursing care, such as the aged persons, physically handicapped persons, sick persons and any other similar persons, will be referred collectively to as the “nursed person or persons”, and persons who attend to the nursed persons by giving the nursing care will be referred to as the “nursing person or persons”.

It is not easy for one nursing person alone to move the nursed person lying on the bed to the stretcher or wheel chair. The nursed person must suffer some pains during this movement. To avoid this, there is proposed a bed that incorporates the wheel chair as part of the bed.

For example, one conventional nursing care bed that is proposed in the Japanese patent application No. 2000-166981 comprises a bed body that can be divided into two sections, that is, the right-side mat section and the left-side mat section, and a wheel chair A storage space for the wheel chair is provided between the right-side mat section and left-side mat section. The wheel chair is equipped with casters, and is capable of moving into or out of the storage space. The wheel chair has a back mat part, a seat mat part, a leg mat part and a foot mat part, and further includes a reclining mechanism that may be operated to cause those parts to be folded. When the respective back mat parts, seat mat parts, leg mat parts and foot mat parts included in the right-side mat section and left-side mat section are placed in their flat positions by operating the reclining mechanism, the right-side mat section and left-side mat section may be placed on the substantially same plane.

In another conventional nursing care bed proposed in the Japanese patent application No. 2001-218799, a bedstead that is equipped with a wheel chair forming facility is fitted in the middle of the bed, wherein the bedstead may be pulled out and then the wheel chair may be formed by using the reclining device. It is described that when a nursed person is being moved from the bed onto the wheel chair, the nursing person can accomplish it simply and easily.

In the nursing care bed proposed in the Japanese patent application No. 2000-166981 mentioned above, the entire bed will be disassembled when the wheel chair is to be pulled out of the bed. Thus, this makes it difficult to handle the bed. For example, when the wheel chair is being placed in the middle storage space again, the bed will have to be reassembled.

In the nursing care bed proposed in the Japanese patent application No. 2001-218799 mentioned above, the provisions for adjusting the height of the bed and for moving the entire bed are not considered. The reclining mechanism for the entire bed is not provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a nursing care bed equipped with the wheel chair facility, wherein when the nursed person is being moved from the bed onto the wheel chair or stretcher or from the wheel chair or stretcher onto the bed, this can be accomplished by one nursing person alone, with as little effort as possible as well as easily and with safety.

In order to attain the above object, the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility according to the present invention comprises a bed frame including a head board, a first bed body and a second bed body, the first bed body and second bed body extending longitudinally of the bed frame and spaced away from each other and each of the first and second bed bodies having one end secured to the corresponding lateral side of the head board, and a wheel chair having casters mounted beneath the bed frame for moving the wheel chair into or out of the bed frame between the first and second bed bodies.

The first bed body and second bed body each have a first bed mat portion and a second bed mat section on the upper side thereof, respectively, each of the first and second bed mat sections including a back bed mat part, a seat bed mat part, leg bed mat part and foot bed mat part.

Each of the first bed body and second bed body further includes a bed reclining mechanism, respectively, which may be operated so that the respective back bed mat part, seat bed mat part, leg bed mat part and foot bed mat part included in each corresponding one of the first bed mat section and second bed mat section can be folded.

The wheel chair bed body has a wheel chair mat section including a wheel chair mat part, wheel chair mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part, and further includes a wheel chair reclining mechanism and a wheel chair lifting mechanism.

The wheel chair reclining mechanism may be operated so that the wheel chair mat part, wheel chair mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part included in the wheel chair mat section can be folded.

The wheel chair lifting mechanism may be operated so that the wheel chair mat section can be moving up and down in the vertical direction, and may also be operated so that the wheel chair mat section can be moving up and down in the vertical direction when the wheel chair mat section is extended to be flat in the horizontal direction.

In the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility as described above, the respective back bed mat parts, seat bed mat parts, leg bed mat parts and foot bed mat parts included in the first bed mat section on the first bed body and in the second bed mat section on the second bed body, and the corresponding wheel chair mat part, wheel chair seat mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part included in the wheel chair mat section on the wheel chair bed body have the same length as measured in the longitudinal direction.

When the wheel chair reclining mechanism is then operated so that the wheel chair bed body placed in the middle space between the first and second bed bodies can be made to be flat, the upper side of the first bed mat section on the first bed body, the upper side of the second bed mat section on the second bed body and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section on the flat wheel chair bed body will become flush with each other. The upper side of the nursing care bed can be formed in this way.

In the state in which the wheel chair bed body placed in the middle space between the first and second bed bodies is made to be flat by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism and the upper side of the first bed mat section on the first bed body, the upper side of the second bed mat section on the second bed body and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section on the wheel chair bed body now in its flat position are then made to be flush with each other, thus forming the upper side of the nursing care bed, when the wheel chair reclining mechanism is operated, the respective reclining mechanisms on the first and second bed bodies that are operatively linked with the wheel chair reclining mechanism will also be operated so that the wheel chair back mat part, wheel chair seat mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part included in the wheel chair mat section, as well as the respective back bed mat parts, seat bed mat parts, leg bed mat parts and foot bed mat parts included in the first and second bed mat sections, can be folded through the respective linkages.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the nursed person may be moved by the nursing person from the bed onto the wheel chair or stretcher or from the wheel chair or stretcher onto the bed, and this movement can be accomplished easily and with safety by making as little effort as possible.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the nursed person lying on his or her back on the stretcher may be moved onto the wheel chair where the nursed person can be made to sit, or vice versa. This can be accomplished easily and with safety by making as little effort as possible

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the nursed person lying on his or her back on the bed may be made to sit or vice versa. This can be accomplished easily and with safety by making as little effort as possible.

The movement from the bed onto the wheel chair or stretcher or from the wheel chair or stretcher onto the bed, and the posture change described above can occur while the nursing person is monitoring the nursed person. Thus, there is no risk that the nursed person may suffer any accidental injuries while the above occurs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating the individual component parts of the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention before they are being assembled;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention as it is completely assembled;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view illustrating how the wheel chair is being lowered from the state shown in (a) to the state shown in (b) where the wheel chair is placed so that it can be flush with the first bed body and second bed body;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view illustrating that the wheel chair bed body is brought to the state by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism in which the nursed person may be made to sit;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view illustrating that the wheel chair bed body is brought into the flat state by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism in which the wheel chair bed body may be used as the stretcher;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view illustrating that the nursed person is lying on his or her back on the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating that the nursed person is lying on his or her back on the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view illustrating how the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility may be folded by operating the reclining mechanism in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODES OF EMBODYING THE INVENTION

Several preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility comprises a head board portion 1 and a bed frame 6, wherein the bed frame 6 includes a first bed body 2 and a second bed body 4, each of the first and second bed bodies 2, 4 having one end thereof secured to each corresponding one of the lateral sides of the head board portion 1.

The first bed body 2 and the second bed body 4 extend in the longitudinal direction of the bed frame 6, and a wheel chair bed body 7 is provided in the middle space between the first and second bed bodies 2, 4 so that it can be moving into or out of the middle space as indicated by arrows 100, 101.

The wheel chair bed body 7 is equipped with casters 9 beneath it as shown in FIG. 1, on which the wheel chair can be traveling on the floor.

The first bed body 2 has a first bed mat section 3 on the upper side thereof, the first bed mat section 3 including a back bed mat part 3 a, a seat bed mat part 3 b, a leg bed mat part 3 c and a foot bed mat part 3 d.

Similarly, the second bed body 4 has a second bed mat section 5 on the upper side thereof, the second bed mat section 5 including a back bed mat part 5 a, a seat bed mat part 5 b, a leg bed mat part 5 c and a foot bed mat part 5 d.

The second bed body 4 further includes a bed reclining mechanism that may be operated so that the back bed mat part 5 a, seat bed mat part 5 b, leg bed mat part 5 c and foot bed mat part 5 d included in the second bed mat section 5 can be folded as shown in FIG. 8.

Similarly, the first bed body 2 further includes a bed reclining mechanism that may be operated so that the back bed mat part 3 a, seat bed mat part 3 b, leg bed mat part 3 c and foot bed mat part 3 d included in the first bed mat section 3 can be folded.

By operating those bed reclining mechanisms, the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 may be reclined between the state as shown in FIG. 6 in which the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 are placed in their flat positions and the state as shown in FIG. 8 in which the respective back bed mat parts 3 a, 5 a, seat bed mat parts 3 b, 5 b, leg bed mat parts 3 c, 5 c and foot bed mat parts 3 d, 5 d included in the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 are placed in their folded positions.

The first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 have casters 10 beneath them, respectively, on which the bed can be traveling on the floor.

The wheel chair bed body 7 has a wheel chair mat section 8 including a wheel chair back mat part 8 a, a wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, a wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and a wheel chair foot mat part 8 d, and further has a wheel chair reclining mechanism and a wheel chair lifting mechanism.

The wheel chair reclining mechanism may be operated so that the wheel chair back mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair foot mat part 8 d included in the wheel chair mat section 8 can be folded as shown in FIG. 4.

By operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism, the wheel chair bed body 7 may be reclined between the state as shown in FIG. 5 in which the wheel chair mat section 8 is placed in its flat position and the state as shown in FIG. 4 in which the wheel chair back mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair foot mat part 8 d are placed in their folded positions.

When the wheel chair bed body 7 is placed into its flat position as shown in FIG. 5 by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism, it may be used as the stretcher.

The wheel chair lifting mechanism may be operated for causing the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b to move up and down in the vertical direction as shown by arrows 102, 103 in FIG. 4.

When the wheel chair mat section 8 is in the flat state in which it is extended in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 5, the wheel chair lifting mechanism may also be operated for causing the wheel chair mat section 8 to move up and down in the vertical direction as shown by arrows 104, 105.

FIG. 3(a) is a side elevation view that illustrates how the wheel chair bed body 7 can be moved into the middle space between the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 on the bed frame 6 in the direction indicated by arrow 100 when the wheel chair bed body 7 is placed in its flat position by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism.

FIG. 3(b) is a side elevation view that illustrates how the wheel chair mat section 8 can be lowered from the state shown in FIG. 3(a) to the state shown in FIG. 3(b) by operating the wheel chair lifting mechanism so that the upper side of the first bed mat section 3 on the first bed body 2, the upper side of the second bed mat section 5 on the second bed body 4 and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section 8 on the wheel chair bed body 7 now in its flat position can be placed flush with each other and the upper side of the nursing care bed can thus be formed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3(b), in which the wheel chair bed body 7 is moved into the middle space between the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 on the bed frame 6 in the direction of arrow 100, and the wheel chair bed body 7 may then be placed in its flat position by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism so that the upper side of the first bed mat section 3 on the first bed body 2, the upper side of the second bed mat section 5 on the second bed body 4 and the wheel chair mat section 8 on the wheel chair bed body 7 now in its flat position can be placed flush with each other, and the upper side of the nursing care bed can thus be formed. FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating that the nursed person is lying on his or her back on the nursing care bed that has been completed by assembling its components as shown in FIG. 2.

It may be seen from FIGS. 2 and 7 that the respective back bed mat parts 3 a, 5 a, seat bed mat parts 3 b, 5 b, leg bed mat parts 3 c, 5 c and foot bed mat parts 3 d, 5 d included in the first bed mat part 3 on the first bed body 2 and second bed mat section 5 on the second bed body 4, and the corresponding wheel chair back mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair mat part 8 c included in the wheel chair bed mat section 8 on the wheel chair bed body 7 have the same length as measured in the longitudinal direction.

The wheel chair reclining mechanism includes a reclining drive 20 mounted below the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, and drive shafts 21, 22 being capable of retractably extending from the reclining drive 20.

The forward end of the drive shaft 21 that may be moved into or out of the reclining drive 20 in the directions of arrows 106, 107 in FIG. 5 when the reclining drive 20 is operated is pivotally coupled with an arm 23 secured to the underside of the wheel chair leg mat part 8 c. Similarly, the forward end of the drive shaft 22 that may be moved into or out of the reclining drive 20 in the directions of arrows 108, 109 in FIG. 5 when the reclining drive 20 is operated is pivotally coupled with an arm 24 secured to the underside of the wheel chair leg mat part 8 c. Furthermore, an arm 27 is secured to the underside of the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, and an arm 26 is secured to the underside of the wheel chair foot mat part 8 d, each of the arms 27 and 26 being pivotally coupled with a lever 25.

This permits the wheel chair bed body 7 to be reclined between the state shown in FIG. 5 in which the wheel chair mat section 8 is placed in its flat position and the state shown in FIG. 4 in which the wheel chair back mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair foot mat part 8 d included in the wheel chair mat section 8 is placed in their folded positions.

The reclining operation from the state shown in FIG. 4 to the state shown in FIG. 5 or from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the state shown in FIG. 4 may be performed by controlling the reclining drive 20 from the remote under control of the controller (not shown).

The bed reclining mechanism for each of the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 may be operated similarly to the wheel chair reclining mechanism described above.

Specifically, the bed reclining mechanism includes a reclining drive 20 a secured to the underside of the seat bed mat part 3 b, 5 b, drive shafts 21 a, 22 a being capable of retractably extending from reclining drive 20 a, an arm 23 a secured to the underside of the back bed mat part 3 a, 5 a, an arm 24 a secured to the underside of the leg bed mat part 3 c, 5 c, an arm 27 a secured to the underside of the seat bed mat part 3 b, 5 b, and an arm 26 a secured to the underside of the foot bed mat part 3 d, 5 d, and a bar 25 a.

Similarly to the operation of the wheel chair reclining mechanism, the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 may be reclined between the state shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3(b) in which each of the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 is placed in its flat position and the state shown in FIG. 8 in which the respective back bed mat part 3 a, 5 a, seat bed mat part 3 b, 5 b, leg bed mat part 3 c, 5 c and foot bed mat part 3 d, 5 d included in each of the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 are placed in their folded positions.

Similarly to the wheel chair reclining mechanism described above, the bed reclining mechanism for each of the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 may be operated by controlling the reclining drive 20 a from the remote under control of the controller (not shown).

By operating the bed reclining mechanism for each of the first bed body 2 or second bed body 4, which then causes the wheel chair reclining mechanism operatively linked with the bed reclining mechanism to be operated in the manner described above, the respective back bed mat parts 3 a, 5 a, seat bed mat parts 3 b, 5 b, leg bed mat parts 3 c, 5 c and foot bed mat parts 3 d, 5 d included in the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 will be folded as shown in FIG. 8 through the respective linkages with the wheel chair mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair foot mat part 8 d.

The reclining drive 20 may be omitted from the bed reclining mechanism.

It may be seen from FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, for example, that the upper side of the nursing care bed is formed by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism so that the wheel chair bed body 7 placed in the middle space between the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 can be placed in its flat position, and then by bringing the upper side of the first bed mat section 3 for the first bed body 2, the upper side of the second bed mat section 5 for the second bed body 5 and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section 8 for the wheel bed body 7 now in its flat position into becoming flush with each other. The back bed mat part 5 a, wheel chair back mat part 8 a and back bed mat part 3 a that are adjacent to each other in the lateral direction may be fixed in position below them as shown in FIG. 6, for example. Similarly, the seat bed mat part 5 b, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b and seat bed mat part 3 b that are adjacent to each other in the lateral direction may be fixed in position below them as shown in FIG. 6. The leg bed mat part 5 c, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and leg bed mat part 3 c may be fixed in position below them as shown in FIG. 6. The foot bed mat part 5 d, wheel chair mat part 8 d and foot bed mat part 3 d may be fixed in position below them as shown in FIG. 6.

When the wheel chair reclining mechanism is operated in the above state, it may cause the bed reclining mechanisms for the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 to be operated through the respective linkages with the wheel chair reclining mechanism. In this manner, the wheel chair back mat part 8 a, wheel chair seat mat part 8 b, wheel chair leg mat part 8 c and wheel chair foot mat part 8 d included in the wheel chair mat section 8 and the respective back bed mat parts 3 a, 5 a, seat bed mat parts 3 b, 5 b, leg bed mat parts 3 c, 5 c and foot bed mat parts 3 d, 5 d included in the first bed mat section 3 and second bed mat section 5 may be caused to be folded through the respective linkages as shown in FIG. 8.

The wheel chair lifting mechanism for the wheel chair bed body 7 includes a crank mechanism 28 and a crank drive (not shown).

When the crank mechanism 28 is driven by the crank drive (not shown) so that it may cause the frames 30, 31 pivotally mounted to a base frame 29 to be pivotally rotated in the direction of arrow 32, it will then cause the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b to be lowered in the direction of arrow 105 in FIG. 5. The position of the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b that has been lowered in this way from the position shown in FIG. 3(a) to the position shown in FIG. 3(b) corresponds to the position in which the upper side of the nursing care bed is formed by bringing the upper side of the wheel chair mat part 8 for the wheel chair bed body 7 now in its flat position into being flush with the upper side of the first bed mat section 3 for the first bed body 2 and the upper side of the second bed mat section 5 for the second bed body 4.

Conversely, when the crank mechanism 28 is driven by the crank drive (not shown) so that it may cause the frames 30, 31 pivotally mounted to the base frame 29 to be pivotally rotated in the direction of arrow 33, it will then cause the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b to be raised in the direction of arrow 104 in FIG. 5. The position of the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b that has been raised in this way from the position shown in FIG. 3(b) corresponds to the position shown in FIG. 3(a).

As shown in FIGS. 3(a), 3(b) and 5, the wheel chair mat section 8 may be moved up and down in the vertical direction when it is placed in its flat position by being extended in the horizontal direction, or the position of the wheel chair seat mat part 8 b in the vertical direction may be moved up and down as shown by arrows 102, 103 when the wheel chair is placed in the state shown in FIG. 4 by operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism.

The operations of turning the frames 30, 31 pivotally in the direction of arrows 32, 33 and moving them up and down from the state shown in FIG. 3(a), FIG. 5 to the state shown in FIG. 3(b) or from the state shown in FIG. (b) to the state shown in FIG. 3(a), FIG. 5 may be performed by controlling the drive (not shown) remotely under control of the controller (not shown).

The wheel chair bed body 7 may be equipped with foldable external frames 40, 41 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The foldable external frames 40, 41 prevent the person sitting on the wheel chair bed body 7 shown in FIG. 4 or the person lying on his or her back on the wheel chair bed body 7 shown in FIG. 5 from falling accidentally from the wheel chair bed body 7. The external frames 40, 41 may be folded by turning them pivotally as indicated by arrows 42, 43 in FIG. 5.

The nursing care bed with the wheel chair facility has been described so far in accordance with the particular embodiment of the present invention, and now how it can be used will be described below.

It is supposed that a nursed person (not shown) is sitting on the wheel chair bed body 7 in the state shown in FIG. 4. Then, the wheel chair reclining mechanism may be operated so that the wheel chair bed body 7 can be placed in its flat state as shown ill FIG. 5.

Next, the wheel chair bed body 7 may be moved into the middle space between the first bed body 2 and second bed body 4 on the bed frame G as shown by arrow 100. This state is shown in FIG. 3(a).

Then, the wheel chair mat section 8 may be lowered as shown by arrow 105 by operating the wheel chair lifting mechanism so that the upper side of the first bed mat section 3 for the first bed body 2, the upper side of the second bed mat section 5 for the second bed body 4 and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section 8 for the wheel chair bed body 7 now in its flat position can become flush with each other as shown in FIG. 3(b) and FIG. 2.

Then, the first bed body 2 and wheel chair bed body 4 and the second bed body 4 and wheel chair bed body 7 can be fixed to each other, respectively, by using respective fastening means (not shown).

In this way, the nursed person (not shown) sitting on the wheel chair bed body 4 in the state shown in FIG. 4 can be moved onto the nursing care bed very easily and with safety, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

When the nursed person is being moved from the nursing care bed onto the wheel chair bed body 7, this can also be accomplished very easily and with safety, by reversing the steps described above.

In accordance with the present invention, therefore, one nursing person alone can move the nursed person from the bed onto the wheel chair or stretcher, or from the wheel chair or stretcher onto the bed, easily and with safety by making as little effort as possible.

By operating the wheel chair reclining mechanism, the nursed person (not shown) lying on the wheel chair mat section 8 may have his or her posture changed into the state shown in FIG. 4 in which the nursed person is sitting on the wheel chair or vice versa. This can be accomplished easily and with safety.

By operating the bed reclining mechanism that is operatively linked with the wheel chair reclining mechanism, the nursed person lying on the nursing care bed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may have his or her posture changed so that he or she can be sitting up on the nursing care bed as shown in FIG. 8 or vice versa. In either case, this can be accomplished easily and with safety.

The movement from the bed onto the wheel chair or stretcher or the movement from the wheel chair or stretcher onto the bed as well as the posture change can be accomplished while the nursing person is monitoring the nursed person. Thus, there is no risk that the nursed person will suffer any accidental injuries.

While the preferable embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is by no means limited to the above described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified to various examples within the technical range which can be understood from the accompanying claims. 

1. A nursing care bed with a wheel chair facility comprising a bed frame including a head board, a first bed body and a second bed body extending in the longitudinal direction of the bed frame and spaced away from each other, each of the first bed body and second bed body having one end secured to each corresponding one of the lateral sides of the head board, and a wheel chair bed body equipped with casters beneath it and being capable of movement into or out of the middle space between the first bed body and second bed body, wherein the first bed body and second bed body each have: a first bed mat section and a second bed mat section on the upper side thereof, respectively, each of the first bed mat section and second bed mat section including a back bed mat part, a seat bed mat part, a leg bed mat part and a foot bed mat part; and bed reclining means operable so that the respective back bed mat part, seat bed mat part, leg bed mat part and foot bed mat part included in the respective first bed mat section and second bed mat section can be folded; the wheel chair bed body includes: a wheel mat section including a wheel chair back mat part, a wheel chair seat mat part, a wheel chair leg mat part and a wheel chair foot mat part; wheel chair reclining means operable so that the wheel chair back mat part, wheel chair seat mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part included in the wheel chair mat section can be folded; and wheel chair lifting means operable so that the wheel chair seat mat part can be moving up and down in the vertical direction, and can also be moving up and down in the vertical direction when the wheel chair mat section is placed in its flat position by being extended in the horizontal direction; and wherein the respective back bed mat part, seat bed mat part, leg bed mat part and foot bed mat part included in the respective first bed mat section and second bed mat section on the respective first bed body and second bed body, and the wheel chair back mat part, wheel chair seat mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair mat part included in the wheel chair mat section on the wheel chair bad body have the same length as measured in the longitudinal direction, whereby when the wheel chair bed body placed in the middle space between the first bed body and second bed body is placed in its flat position by operating the wheel chair reclining means, the upper side of the nursing care bed can be formed by bringing the upper side of the first bed mat section of the first bed body, the upper side of the second bed mat section of the second bed body and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section of the wheel chair bed body now placed in its flat position into being flush with each other; and in the state where the wheel chair bed body placed in the middle space between the first bed body and second bed body is placed in its flat position by operating the wheel chair reclining means and where the upper side of the nursing care bed is formed by bringing the upper side of the first bed mat section of the first bed body, the upper side of the second bed mat section of the second bed body and the upper side of the wheel chair mat section of the wheel chair bed body now placed in its flat position into being flush with each other, the wheel chair reclining means is operated, followed by the respective bed reclining means for the first bed body and second bed body operatively linked with the wheel chair reclining means being operated, so that the wheel chair back mat part, wheel chair seat mat part, wheel chair leg mat part and wheel chair foot mat part included in the wheel chair mat section and the respective back bed mat parts, seat bed mat parts, leg bed mat parts and foot bed mat parts included in the respective first bed mat section and second bed at section can be folded through the respective linkages. 